Brands want to talk to you…or at least their bots do. As mobile messaging platforms become the new face of social, marketers are looking to the high tech of AI and machine learning to seem more human to customers. But what happens when brands want to be your robotic valet, your mechanical friend? How does conversational marketing change the “relationship” between consumer and brand, if at all? Is the marketing bot trend really serving customers better through more personalized and personable interactions? Or is it just another transparent ploy by marketers to be the branded best bud that consumers really don’t need?